How to build a bird table

Feeding birds brings a garden to life. It is essential to clean off the uneaten food regularly to minimize
disease. I have designed this feeding table to fit a dining plate to hold the food, making it easy for
you to take it back indoors to wash up.

Step one: building the table

1. Cut a square of plywood slightly larger than your plate size.
2. Cut 4 pieces of dowel and pin and glue around the edges as shown.
3. Cut another 4 pieces of dowel to the height
required.
4. Stand a piece on each corner and glue and screw through the base of the plywood to hold the roof.
5. Cut 4 pieces of roof battens to join the tops of the upright dowels, forming a square. This is called a wallplate.
6. Screw the four battens together, and then glue and screw the whole square into the upright dowels.

Step two: building the roof

1. Cut 4 pieces of roof battens with 45 degree cuts
as rafters to form the roof shape.
2. Cut a notch into the ends (a bird's mouth) so that they sit on the wallplate.
3. Glue & screw into the wallplate.

Step three: the shingles

1. Cut 2 squares of plywood to fit either side of the
rooftop.
2. Glue and pin to the rafters.
3. Glue cedar shingles to the plywood, starting from the
bottom of the rooftop and working up.

Step four: building the base

1. Cut 2 x 600mm lengths of 50mm x 100mm as
feet. Make a half lap joint in the middle of each
piece. Glue and screw through the joint.
2. Cut a
piece of 75mm x 75mm to the table height.
Position over the half lap joint; glue and screw.
3. Place the top of the table on top of the post and
glue and screw through the base.
4. Cut 8 pieces of
50mm x 50mm timber with 45 degree angles as
braces between base and post bottom, and between
the top of the post and the table.
5. Glue and screw these braces into the base, post and plywood.